Stoxx 600, FTSE, DAX, oil prices, Middle East latest

LONDON — European stocks were higher on Wednesday as markets continue to track the war in the Middle East.

The regional Stoxx 600 was up 1.2% at 10:45 a.m. (5:45 a.m. ET) in London. London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.4%, while Germany’s DAX rose 1.5%, and France’s CAC 40 was nearly 1% higher.

Spain’s IBEX 35 was up 1.5% after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to cut off all trade with the country. Spain had declined to allow U.S. forces to use its bases for strikes on Iran.

“Spain has been terrible,” Trump said on Tuesday. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reiterated criticisms of the conflict in the Middle East in a televised address on Wednesday morning, calling the U.S. and Israel’s strikes on Iran a “disaster” and likening it to the invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s.

Regional stocks had traded sharply lower on Tuesday as the conflict continued to weigh on global investor sentiment. Banking, insurance, travel and leisure, and utilities stocks led losses.

The higher open in Europe on Wednesday comes as U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran continued overnight with Western countries trying to organize evacuation flights for their citizens in the region.

Oil prices eased Tuesday in extended trading, however, after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would provide insurance to tankers in the Persian Gulf to get maritime traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the Navy will escort tankers in the region, if necessary.

In Asia-Pacific markets overnight, South Korea’s Kospi plunged over 12% before paring some losses, while U.S. stock futures fell Tuesday night after a volatile session for U.S. equities.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates’ stock markets reopened Wednesday after a two-day closure following Iranian drone and missile strikes on the region. Stocks listed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi tumbled after trading resumed.